In today's world, programs for communicating over the Internet are becoming increasingly important . The same Skype has long been almost the legendary application through which people from different parts of the world communicate with each other. It is not only cheap, but also extremely convenient.
But after the purchase of Skype by Microsoft, many users began to complain about the increasing incidence of problems. Whether these two circumstances are connected or not, but more and more video call enthusiasts are beginning to look for all sorts of alternatives.
One of them is Viber. What kind of program is this, and what are its advantages? Let's find out!
Background
One of the leading companies in the world telecommunications market, TeleGeography, has been reporting for two years about the rapid decline in traditional telephone traffic. But the number of users who use specialized programs for negotiations is growing. So, in 2012, calls via the Internet exceeded the mark of 147 billion units. If we compare even with 2011, this figure immediately grew by 44%!
In addition, the number of messages sent via Internet messengers is constantly growing. Despite the general decrease in the number of SMS around the world, this year it is projected to increase the number of messages via Skype and similar programs to almost 10 trillion! It is not surprising that more than 54% of the entire market is captured by specialized applications, and the creators of startups literally rave about the success of their founders.
Developers
The developer of Viber (what kind of program is this, we will tell you now) is the Viber Media company of the same name. They released their creation on the market four years ago. The first two years were not very successful, but after a couple of years the audience of this messenger was about 90 million people around the world.
By 2012, the number of users totaled more than 200 million people, and this number has been steadily growing. What attracts people so much?
A huge advantage is the fact that the program is available for almost all currently existing operating systems. You can use it on Android and BlackBerry, iOS and even Symbian. In addition, there are versions of the application for OSX and Windows.
Key Features
As promised, now we will reveal the main characteristics of this utility. In general, you won’t have to paint them for a long time. Imagine that you are using the same Skype, in which there is no advertisement, which starts quickly and does not lose the database of numbers after every second update.
Actually, Viber is just such an application. What is this, we have already figured out, and now move on to issues of use and configuration.
registration
To become a registered user, you have to enter your mobile phone number, which will receive a special activation code.
The program can automatically add the numbers of those users who also use this application to the phonebook of your smartphone. Moreover, the utility can notify you if one of your friends has also become its user. If this option does not suit you, simply disable it in the menu.
Making a phone from a tablet!
If you are interested in the Viber program (what it is, you have already read), then we have other good news. After all, with its help, you can turn a tablet without a GSM module into a model that supports voice communication. Of course, for this you have to buy a USB modem, but it's worth it! Since the application registers users only by confirmation code, you can quite rewrite it from SMS, which was received even to the old “dialer”.
A bit of voice call information
We draw your attention to the fact that this application was created specifically for making voice calls. Moreover, the implementation of the protocols is so good that acceptable communication quality is realized even with very low characteristics of the Internet channel. For example, voice transmission from Wi-Fi to EDGE is just fine.
Of course, interruptions happen periodically, but no more than a couple of seconds take off from a conversation. Alas, the transfer of video under the same conditions is a disaster: physics cannot be outsmarted, and the efforts of domestic operators in the field of improving the quality of communications have not yet been noticed.
In general, the program copes with the task of voice transmission even through domestic networks. Most likely, an increase in the capacities of our mobile operators will lead to its wider distribution.
By the way, how to call? It's simple: in the program menu, select Viber Out. What it is? Yes, it’s just called a call, so there’s nothing wrong with that.
How to protect yourself from disappointment?
To avoid disappointment, check your operator’s coverage area in advance: if your city or region falls under only 2G (moreover, GPRS is for the most part), then hoping for a quality connection is simply stupid. Of course, if you have a normal wired Internet operator, you can use your smartphone or computer to talk with friends on the other side of the world using a Wi-Fi connection.
However, back to the issue of voice calls. An extremely pleasant feature of the program is that the incoming call does not differ in any way from that for a regular phone call. Moreover, a pre-launched copy of the application is not required!
The call can be accepted or rejected. Important! Free calls can only be made to those numbers to which the Viber program has already been linked. What does this mean, in a more understandable language? If you call through the application to the phone of a friend who does not have this utility, then the call will go through the network of your mobile operator, according to its tariffing.
Important! All received and missed calls are stored in a separate log, so you should not look for them in the general phone book.
Text messages
If you have ever used the more or less old phones from Nokia, then you probably know about the wonderful WhatsApp application. Viber (which we already know well) offers the ability to send text messages that are in no way inferior to those of the old program. You can type text messages, insert music and video into them. In a word, all this works in approximately the same way as it was implemented in MMS.
All messages are displayed in the form of dialogs, which should not be an event for those who have a modern smartphone. Alas, the history of received and transmitted messages is not stored on the servers, so if you delete the program from a specific device, all your correspondence will simply be lost. But there is a nice feature: at any time you can create a group chat immediately for forty people.
Important! If mass correspondence is being conducted, then it rarely happens that messages sent in PM go to the wrong recipients.
PC version
We have already said that this application has versions for "large" computers on Windows and OSX. In fairness, it is worth saying that they appeared recently. Note that for the creators of Viber (what is this, you have already learned for a long time) this event at one time served as an occasion for rejoicing, as it gave every chance to finally “catch up and overtake” Skype. They actually did it.
Users immediately liked the application interface, which became very simple and concise, not to mention its competitor, which from version to version is becoming “harder” and more inconvenient to manage.
Features of the "large" version of the utility
On the left in the main working window there is a main menu from which you can view your messages, as well as contacts in the phone book. In addition, a dialing window opens from there. Below there is a button, after clicking which you will go to the main settings menu of the program.
In general, the capabilities of the desktop application are significantly different from those in Viber for Android. What does it mean? Everything is simple. Finally, you can make full-fledged video calls, which equalizes the chances with Skype. At the moment, the mobile version of the application with video transmission is experiencing significant problems. One can only hope that all these problems are only a temporary phenomenon.
Other nice options
In the latest versions, it became possible to transfer an incoming call from a phone to a computer. So far this option works so-so, but over time the situation will obviously improve.
Important! Remember what we said about the lack of synchronization? So, this “bun” was added to the Viber desktop application. What does it mean? Everything is simple!
If you start chatting with friends on the phone, you can resume all this on your computer at any time. In short, this application will appeal to modern and dynamic people. Its options not only allow you to always stay in touch, but also not be tied to any particular device.
Final conclusions
Thus, for most tasks, even the simplest Viber for the phone is perfect. What does it mean? You can make calls, send messages, and save new contacts, subsequently synchronizing them with a computer or laptop. If we talk about the version for Windows and MacOS, then we can safely say that in terms of functionality it is practically not inferior to that for Skype.
You can learn more by visiting Viber World. What it is? This is a thematic forum from the creators of the application, where you will surely find answers to all your questions.
Program Benefits
These should definitely include the simplest registration procedure possible. You only need a cell phone with an active SIM card, to which a confirmation code will be sent!
In addition, contact search can be performed in fully automatic mode. This will be very useful for sociable people who constantly make new friends. So, it is possible to search for new users by interests or by place of residence.
Most of the calls are completely free, and the cost of calls even to other countries is such that the costs will not be sensitive even for people with an average income. The exact same thing can be said about messages. Within your own country, you can send hundreds of thousands of SMS, paying only for the consumed traffic. Even taking into account the greed of our mobile operators, the savings are very significant.
Important! There is a great file transfer option. The attractiveness of the program is manifested in the fact that the transfer of even very large documents is in no way limited. Of course, a lot depends on the type of your Internet connection, so you should not try to transfer the archive to a couple of GBs, having only a stunted EDGE-channel at your disposal.
As we already said, in the latest versions message synchronization was added between the smartphone and the computer, so that even if you reinstall the program you will not lose anything.
Minuses
We have already mentioned that some messages that you sent to the personal mailbox of a specific user can go into general chat. In addition, some messages may simply not reach the addressees. With what it is specifically connected, it is difficult to say. Some experts believe that the case may be in an overloaded communication channel.
A huge drawback is the fact that the message history is not stored on the server. Of course, you can understand the developers: the space on hard drives costs money, and it’s just silly to demand something more from a free program ... But couldn’t it be possible to add the possibility of buying a small amount of disk space? After all, the history of text messages takes a couple of hundred Kb by force! In a word, one can only hope for the goodwill of the creators of the program.
Finally, until now there is no way to make a video call from a smartphone. Adding this option has been promised for a long time, but something constantly interferes with the implementation of this plan. If the developers finally fulfill their promise, then Skype’s dominance will definitely be put to an end!
Here he is, Viber for Android. What it is, you now know very well.